


both reached for the gun

by lesmoulinsrouges (silverskiies)



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: F/M, jackie vs tess, lots of flashbacks, spy!vm, vm are skaters turned spies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-14 19:58:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18483307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverskiies/pseuds/lesmoulinsrouges
Summary: in which tessa and jackie are spies for separate agencies and their mutual target is scott.





	both reached for the gun

**Author's Note:**

> this started off as a small idea, which grew into a blurb, which grew into a story, and i'm so glad i chose to go with it!
> 
> special thanks to:  
> \- cas for being an absolute gem and helping me through this; your input has made this so much better <33  
> \- garb for helping me with my very questionable french & being an amazing friend, love u <33  
> \- nicole for editing this real fast so i could post it; you are very blessed <33
> 
> title is from chicago even though it has literally nothing to do with the fic
> 
> enjoy!!

For someone who traveled so much, Tessa should, theoretically, not be deathly afraid of planes. But she was, and it was becoming a slight problem because she traveled alone more and more. Her flight wasn’t even a long one; she was flying from her hometown of London, Ontario, to Montréal, Québec, which was just over an hour’s airtime.

Yet something about being in the small, stuffy airplane made her think that something bad was going to happen.

It was as normal a plane ride as one could get, and Tessa had been on her fair share of strange plane rides. The plane had boarded and left the gate flawlessly, for one. There were no late passengers, and there was no delay in leaving the gate once all the passengers had boarded. The flight attendants went around from row to row, assisting passengers and making sure everything was alright while the regular safety announcements were played, sitting down once the plane took off. The airplane went down the runway without a hitch, and Tessa looked out her window as London became a cluster of tiny and unimportant little specks. The seatbelt sign turned on and off as the flight progressed, and flight attendants made their rounds with their carts, offering drinks to the passengers.

Tessa always shied away from the word 'perfect,' instead striving for excellence, but this was a textbook airplane flight, and 'perfect' is what she could call it.

It calmed her anxiety in a way, because even if there was the slightest problem, Tessa would feel too restless to do anything but stare out the window, barely listening to the Hall and Oates playing in her earbuds. The last time she had been on an airplane, the cabin had run out of ginger ale, and she was not able to function because drinking it had become a part of her routine to calm her nerves while on a plane.

But there was that one part of her that felt like the plane was going to malfunction and they would end up making an emergency landing in the middle of a forest. She had to shake herself out of that notion, though, because it wasn't very likely to happen when the first half of her trip had gone seamlessly.

After she finished her small plastic cup of ginger ale, Tessa decided that she could nap for a bit. A half-hour's sleep would be good for her mentality going into the afternoon's events. She knew that after she arrived in Montréal, she would end up being very restless. Sleeping on Marie and Patch's air mattress was not particularly comfortable, as she had learned when she previously stayed with her beloved mentors.

She put on her earbuds and pressed shuffle on one of the playlists she had saved from Spotify, entitled 'Relaxation.' The sound of Movement by Hozier (her new favourite song since she had first heard it on the radio the week before) flooded into her ears as Tessa closed her eyes and drifted into a light slumber.

\---

_Tessa doesn't know how she did it, but she was able to do an axel after a two-hour session with her coach, Carol. They were somewhat alone on the ice, with only a few other people skating idly near the boards, and she had asked Carol to try to teach her. Carol had hesitantly agreed; Tessa was good, but she was often too hard on herself when she couldn't do something well._

_A few weeks before, they had worked on spread eagles, which Tessa just couldn't get, no matter how hard she tried. She was almost in tears by the time they finished, but it seemed that she had regained her determination that week._

_Carol had prefaced her lesson by saying that it was completely okay if Tessa didn't get her axel on the first day because it could take months for some people, and it seemed that Tessa was some sort of exception._

_When she had first landed it, she experienced a rush of adrenaline and a wide grin split across her youthful face._

_"I did it!" she exclaimed. "Carol, did you see? I did it!"_

_Tessa had looked around the rink to find her coach, but she was not in the spot in which she was previously standing. Instead, she was by the boards, talking to a middle-aged woman. A young boy in black figure skates skated behind her, doing bubbles, with what looked like a bored expression on his face._

_"One minute, Tessa!" Carol called back to her as a girl about Tessa's age stepped onto the ice. Tessa hadn't noticed her when Carol was talking to the woman (who she assumed was the girl's mother), because the boards were taller than her petite frame. She too didn't look the most enthusiastic about being there, and when she skated, she moved in the opposite direction of the boy._

_Once the woman had left, Carol skated back to Tessa, who had been practicing the axel some more, and bent down to talk to her. "Tessa, honey, I have another coaching block now, I'm so sorry. I'll see you next week though, right?"_

_"Okay, Coach Carol," said Tessa softly. She must have looked so devastated, because Carol looked at her pitifully._

_"If you want, you can try your axel one last time while they warm up," she offered, nodding towards the boy and girl, who had begun to skate the perimeter of the rink. Tessa instantly brightened, starting her backward crossovers. Suddenly, she was in the air, completing one and a half rotations, and landing quite solidly._

_Carol was agape for a few seconds, before engulfing Tessa in a bear hug. Tessa herself was surprised that she had landed the jump, and her face flushed with pleasure as she grinned back at Carol._

_"I'm so proud of you, Tessa!" Carol exclaimed as she released Tessa from the hug. "Did you know that you're one of the first students I've had that landed an axel after one session? You're amazing!"_

_Tessa smiled, proud of herself for being able to accomplish such a rare feat. She couldn't wait to try more and more jumps, and maybe even tackle those darned spread eagles!_

_Out of the corner of her eye, Tessa saw the boy looking at her in astonishment, saying something to his partner. She assumed he had stopped to watch her jump, probably expecting she would fall. After all, he did look at least a few years older than her and had probably landed an axel before. He turned back to his partner, who looked at Tessa with a sort of scowl on her face, before grabbing his hand and continuing to circle around the rink. Tessa noticed how the girl skated very warily, as if she was almost certain the boy would screw up._

_Tessa skated back to the boards after one last goodbye to her coach, whose attention was now on the boy and girl, who had started skating a sort of pattern. Her skates came off her feet (first the left, then the right) and were placed neatly in the little luggage she carried them in._

_As Tessa made her way to the front of the arena, where her mother said she would be waiting, she looked at the clock. It was only two o'clock (Tessa's mother said she would be there at a quarter past) which gave Tessa a bit of time to watch the pair. She had never really cared for ice dance, having a more solitary and introverted personality, but she thought it was very interesting to watch the teams interact and move together on the ice._

_The girl and boy moved fairly well across the rink, trying to get into their edges and skate the pattern well. However, the girl seemed to move mechanically with not deep enough edges, and while the boy's edges were actually not bad, he kept screwing up the steps._

_This seemed to agitate the girl. Tessa could see her lips moving; she hoped the girl was talking to her partner, trying to help him remember the steps, but it seemed that the girl was taking her frustration out on him._

_Carol seemed to notice this too, and stopped them to say a few words, before the duo resumed their pattern. This time, the boy skated somewhat better, and Tessa thought their pattern actually looked decent. They skated somewhat in unison, and their edges were not too bad, but (from the look on Carol's face) could definitely be better._

_They continued to skate like that for another minute or so, before the boy's concentration began to fade. He looked everywhere except for his partner and the ice. His eyes slid from Carol, to the clock, to the boards, to Tessa, and back to Carol again. The girl seemed agitated, because she kept looking at him as if she wanted to tell him to concentrate, but was either too scared or too lazy to do so._

_When the boy finally messed up the pattern, he nearly fell, but was able to catch himself before his backside hit the ice._

_The girl, on the other hand, was not as lucky. The boy had accidentally pushed her down while he was trying to stay standing, and she fell onto the ice with a thud. An immediate "Sorry!" came from the boy's mouth, but the girl looked at him witheringly from where she was sitting on the ice._

_"Seriously, Scott?" she asked loudly, clearly angry. "I've told you so many times to pay attention, and you just don't! You look around, at everything but me or the ice! I'm done with this!"_

_She stood up, pushing away the hand he offered to help her, before skating away angrily. Carol tried to call her back, but it seemed to be no use. "I'm not skating with Scott ever again!" she demanded, crossing her arms. "Never ever ever!"_

_The boy, Scott, stood sheepishly in the centre of the ice, looking at his coach with an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry," Tessa heard him mutter._

_Carol shook her head at him, saying something along the lines of "No, you're not," to which he looked down at his skates shamefacedly. They exchanged a quiet conversation before Carol gave him a pat on the back, and they skated off towards the boards together._

_As they stepped off the ice, Carol tried to approach the girl, to talk her out of her anger, but unfortunately for Carol (and maybe Scott), she seemed to be very stubborn, not unlike Tessa herself. She kept shaking her head, keeping her arms crossed the whole time. It seemed that there was no getting her to skate with him again._

_After all, Scott did seem extremely forgetful and lazy. Tessa didn't think she ever wanted to skate with anyone like him._

_He tried approaching the girl, but she didn't even give him one glance as she put her skates in her bag, zipped it up, and marched out to the entrance of the arena, near where Tessa was. She sat down sullenly on one of the benches, after seeming to realize that she didn't actually have any means of going home._

_Scott, trying to be somewhat persistent in getting his partner back, plopped down next to her and opened his mouth to apologize. The girl finally turned around to look at him witheringly (Tessa was surprised at how rude and angry she was seeming; the girl had seemed so calm and easygoing at first)._

_"I don't want to skate with you ever again! You can't remember the steps, and you don't even pay attention! I don't even think you like skating with me and I hate you!" the girl yelled at him. She let out a huff, crossing her arms and looking in the opposite direction from him._

_Scott's mouth shut with a snap, looking taken aback at her outburst. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he let out what seemed to be an apology. "I'm sorry, I was being a stupid head," he mumbled, probably hoping Carol wouldn't hear him say things like that to her. "It's just-- I want to play hockey. Hockey's cool. And mom said that if I wanna play hockey, I have to do ice dance. Can you please please please still skate with me?"_

_Tessa looked on at the scene, quite amused. Was he serious? No wonder the girl didn't want to skate with him, he was pathetic!_

_"No!" she replied haughtily. "If you want to play hockey, then go play hockey instead of twirling around with me! I'm not dancing with you just because your mom said so."_

_Well, she had a point. And Tessa could see that Scott knew, because his face fell as he stood up to go back to the rink. Tessa let out a giggle as her eyes drifted between Scott's retreating figure and the girl, who sat slumped on the bench with her arms still firmly crossed against her chest. The girl turned and looked at Tessa with the same glare she had turned on Scott._

_What on earth had Tessa done to her?_

_She was about to ask her, out of mere curiosity, why she was so mad, when the screeching noise of a car horn sounded. She stood up to go outside, where her mom was waiting for her in the car._

\---

_CRACK._

Tessa jolted awake with the noise. Her ears flooded with the sound of anxious passengers and crew members rushing around the cabin. The oxygen masks were down, and the captain was speaking on the intercom, but Tessa could barely hear him over all the commotion, so the only words she could make out were "air pressure," "oxygen mask," and "stay calm."

If he thought that everyone would actually stay calm, he was kind of an idiot. But if he thought that people like Tessa (who were deathly afraid of this sort of situation happening) were going to stay calm, he was out of his mind.

Tessa liked to think that she wasn't one of those people who showed extreme anxiety at everything. For example, when she was out on a mission, she didn't show any signs of fear, in the event that an opponent would use it to their advantage. But now, when she was put on a commercial plane with really no threat other than poorly regulated cabin pressure, she started shaking, wanting to curl up in her window seat and bawl her eyes out.

She took a second to collect herself before looking around. Most of the passengers had put on their oxygen mask and were breathing normally. Some had put earbuds in, probably trying to calm their nerves with music, others had settled on staring out the window, while some gripped the hands of loved ones, as if to silently say "everything will be alright."

Flight attendants were sitting in their fold-down chairs with the masks secured over their faces. Tessa reached for her mask and put it on carefully, hoping that there wasn't any sort of gas inside waiting to knock her out (she watched Mission: Impossible 2 when she was eleven, which made her feel terrified of oxygen masks on planes ever since). Nobody around her seemed to be unconscious, so she put the mask over her nose and mouth and the strap around her head and inhaled.

The captain's voice crackled back onto the intercom, and Tessa felt the plane drop a bit. They seemed to be descending, which relieved the hell out of her, because she didn't think she could handle being in the plane any longer.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the air pressure cannot be regulated because of a small crack in one of the back windows. Since we are about twenty-five minutes away from Montréal, we will not make an emergency landing, instead continuing our route to the airport, but at a lower altitude. Please keep your oxygen masks on, and stay in your seats until we land. Thank you."

Tessa lifted the cover on her window and stared out. There weren't many clouds in sight, so Tessa could vaguely make out residential patterns surrounded by highways and commercial areas. She tried to breathe normally. Everyone would be fine. She's had missions that were so much more deadly than this. Of all things she could have an irrational fear of, it was _planes_.

She tore her eyes from the outside, focusing her attention on the cabin. The flight attendants were still sitting in their seats, some of them having taken out their phones, others looking down at their laps or at the cabin.

One of the flight attendants who was particularly in her view was looking down at her phone, but seemed to have her screen facing away from the flight attendant sitting beside her. There was a certain familiarity about her, but Tessa just couldn't place where she'd seen her before.

_Was she from skating? Did she see her on a mission? Was she from school? Were they distantly related?_

Tessa wasn't sure.

The flight attendant looked up suddenly, stealing a furtive glance around the cabin, before returning her focus to her phone.

That _face_. Tessa knew that face from somewhere, and it was driving her crazy. Maybe if she had been able to stand up and walk around, she would be able to figure out who this woman was, but Tessa had an oxygen mask attached to her, and she was far too scared to take it off.

She sat staring at the flight attendant with the most puzzled look on her face for about fifteen more minutes, while the plane continued its descent to the Montréal airport. The flight attendant's head did not move; only her eyes, when she glanced up for a split second before gluing them back to her phone. Her fingers moved furiously as she tapped at the small screen. Tessa wondered what she was doing, because there wasn't supposed to be any cell phone service, and even if there was, the flight attendant _should_ have her phone on airplane mode (although Tessa suspected that the woman wasn't one to follow such rules).

When the plane finally touched down, the flight attendant stood up abruptly, tucked her phone into the pocket of her uniform, removed her oxygen mask, and began to walk to the back of the plane.

No one except for Tessa seemed to notice this, so she decided to not pursue it. Tessa was exhausted and wanted to do nothing but sleep, after all.

Later that night, when she arrived safely at Marie and Patch's house, she would tell them all about the mishap on the plane, maybe including the part about the suspicious flight attendant, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to.

As she exited the plane and turned on her phone again, she sighed a breath of relief. At least she was able to tackle the airplane side of things. The rest of her trip would be easy and fun; a nice visit with her friends in a beautiful city. What else could go wrong?

It wasn't until she reached the entrance of the airport, trying to hail a taxi that would take her to Marie and Patch's house, that her phone started ringing loudly.

Normally, she wouldn't pick up calls at such a time, but the Caller ID displayed Marie's name, so she thought it might be beneficial for her to pick up.

"Hello?" she said after she had brought the phone up to her ear. "Marie?"

" _Bonjour_ , Tessa," Marie's voice echoed through the receiver. "Where are you?"

"I'm outside of the airport, waiting for a taxi. Why?" Tessa answered.

She realized that Marie was probably making sure she had landed safely, and she outstretched her hand and waved, signaling for the driver to stop in front of her. Tessa got into the car.

" _Où est-ce que tu veux vas, mademoiselle?_ " the driver asked Tessa.

Tessa's mind came to a blank. She didn't actually know where Marie and Patch lived, and she couldn't exactly say 'Marie and Patch's house, of course' with the expectations that the driver would take her there.

"Marie, where do you live again?" Tessa asked, noticing that the line had gone silent except for distant shuffling around. Maybe Patch or Billie-Rose had needed Marie for something.

Another voice came onto the phone, and Tessa only recognized after they spoke that it belonged to Patch. He sounded rather gruff, and had a certain urgency to his tone.

"Tessa, we need you to come to Gadbois right now. _C'est urgent_."

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed & i would appreciate it so so much if you commented your thoughts!!
> 
> twitter is @/scottsyeehaw if you wanna contact me :))


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